Ken Tanaka
Kenneth "Ken" Tanaka is the former coach of the Football Team at McKinley. He is also the former fiancé of Emma Pillsbury. He is subsequently replaced by Shannon Beiste, due to having a nervous breakdown. Ken Tanaka is portrayed by Patrick Gallagher. Biography Season One Pilot Ken is seen in the teacher's lounge, where he complains about the disappearance of the coffee pot. He says hello to Emma and says she didn't show up for a mixer he asked her out to. He asks Emma out yet again, to a car show. She admits she has been making up excuses when he asks her out and that she doesn't want to go out with him. Ken gets frustrated and rubs spit on her car. He allows Will to talk to the football ball team about joining glee club. He is seen lecturing Finn about being in New Directions, confronting Will about stealing his quarter back, and using a shredder while glaring at Will and staring at Emma. He is also seen buying marijuana from Sandy . Showmance Ken sees Emma and Will nearly kiss during Will's janitorial shift. Ken approaches Emma at lunch and tells her he saw what she did with Will, and that she should stop wasting her time pursuing a married man, and about how he thinks he would be suitable for her. She agrees to go out with him. Acafellas Ken sits with Henri, Sandy, Will, and Howard Bamboo in the teacher's lounge. They celebrate Henri's birthday and complain about how miserable they think their lives are. They sing For He's a Jolly Good Fellow to Henri and realize they sound good singing together. Ken rehearses This Is How We Do It and kicks Sandy out of the group with them in Will's living room. They all suggest names for their newly founded a cappella group, including Ken, but settle on 'Acafellas'. Ken later performs Poison with the rest of Acafellas at a sports bar, in which he performs a short solo and background vocals. The Acafellas are happy about a good review of their performance in the newspaper, in which Ken's baritone is complimented. Ken has trouble when Will attempts to teach dance moves, and thinks Emma is breaking up with him when she tells him that Henri has quit the group. Ken is not pleased when Howard and Henri have quit. Puck requests to join Acafellas, and Ken lets him join, but threatens to punch Puck if he messes up his love life. Ken and the Acafellas later perform I Wanna Sex You Up. Preggers Ken screams at the football team's kicker and puts him in charge of hydration services. After Kurt's tryout, Ken declares him the new kicker and says that Kurt can wear a tutu at games for all he cares, as long as he performs well. Ken and Will try and help the team out, by having Kurt teach them a dance routine. Just before the football game that night, Ken rubs and blows on his whistle for good luck. He is frustrated during the game when the McKinley team makes mistakes, resulting in touchdowns for the opposing team. He pats Kurt comfortingly before Kurt has to kick, and is joyful when the team wins the game. Vitamin D Ken is seen explaining a play to the football team. Ken walks into the office of Terri, the new school nurse, and expresses his concern that Emma may be in love with Will. Terri convinces him to propose to Emma. He is nervous, so Terri gives him decongestant. He proposes to Emma in the teachers lounge, and she tells him she'll answer later. The two meet in the lockers of the football team and discuss the matter. Emma accepts his proposal, but with a long list of conditions. Mash-Up Ken and Emma ask Will for dance lessons and a mash-up for their wedding. When Will and Emma fall on top of each other when rehearsing for the wedding, Ken sees and gets very mad. He makes the football players that are in the glee club to choose between glee club and football. Will tries to talk him out of it, but it doesn't work. Later, Finn talks Ken into allowing football players to be in the glee club as well. Mattress Ken tells Will their wedding is on the following Saturday. (Ken set the wedding on that day to stop Emma from attending Sectionals). Sectionals Ken is furious when Emma tells him she is attending sectionals. He then breaks up with her. Hell-O Finn says he wishes he could be more like Ken who lost Emma but is doing fine, besides pulling a Jessica Simpson and gaining 40 pounds and not been showering ever since. Bad Reputation Ken confronts Will about his actions on cheating on Emma, since it has circled the whole school everyone knows. Season Two Audition Ken is replaced by Shannon Beiste after a nervous breakdown. It is unknown whether or not he will return as a guest star in future episodes. He didn't show up in any other episodes, he also wasn't in season three, and it is currently unknown if he will appear in season four, but it is highly unlikely. Personality Despite his age, Ken is an obvious jock. Aggressive, loud, unkempt and a little dimwitted, he often seems to treat people around him like his players on the football team. Whenever he becomes passionate about something, he goes all in, and will push it until he succeeds or until his failure is so obvious and complete that he has not other choice than than to let go. All this, shows Ken to be a very emotional man (although he'll deny it), and often he lets his emotions run away with him. As such, this can cause him a great number of problems regarding those he interacts with. For example, although Emma made it clear for a long time that she barely tolerated him, Ken continued to push her to date him, until at last she conceded more because she felt he was the best she could do, rather than because she had grown to like him. Unfortunately, despite Ken's attempt to be the best boyfriend/fiance Emma couldask for, even he could see she was in love with someone else, which resulted in him having a series of jealous outbursts. Ken is also can be extremely immature in how he handles things. When he felt Will was actively trying to steal Emma from him, Ken took it out on the Football players who were associated with Glee, trying to force them into quiting Glee or get kicked off the team. Despite his more undesirable traits, when Terri called him "kind and generous", Emma did not correct her. Relationships Emma Pillsbury Ken is deeply in love with her, though she is merely settling for him. He asked her out several times, but mostly, she dodged his requests with excuses. Their relationship is very strict and limited - they can't see each other after school or live together even after they marry, and Emma prefers him not to touch her. Ken dumps her at the alter in the episode Sectionals and she begins a relationship with Will, who had just left his wife. Terri Schuester In Vitamin D, Ken suggests that they see each other when she visits his office to counteract the "affair" that Will and Emma are supposedly having, but Terri declines. Trivia The character of Ken Tanaka, will not be returning. Quotes Gallery Ken.png Kenteacherslounge.jpg Emma and ken.jpg Emmaandken.jpg IWannaSexYouUp.png I wanna Sex You Up.png imagesCAEGJHE3.jpg|Ken Ken6942-1512564 100 100.jpg tumblr_lu9hx2txmi1qf3ozto1_500.jpg tumblr_lw2j0pZ9Ay1qfm5ooo3_250.png tumblr_lwvc8hZuvB1qcf3p6o4_250.gif tumblr_lwzr64TkHd1r6iq0qo1_500.png tumblr_lxlk0nC0UX1r6iq0qo1_500.png tumblr_lxlk5yfaMU1r6iq0qo1_500.png tumblr_m0u2jfKxpM1roofo9o2_500.png Tumblr_m04gowFQug1qlqifro2_r1_250.gif tumblr_m1kb9rrRPv1r6iq0qo1_500.png tumblr_m2rwrj5Zgz1ruo7z0o1_500.jpg tumblr_m4vm4zGC1Y1qasd2uo2_250.png tumblr_m24iasANoy1qgkj12o1_500.jpg tumblr_m281soarsI1rnrtnco1_500.jpg tumblr_m281tsOaGW1rnrtnco1_500.jpg tumblr_m281uysbed1rnrtnco1_500.jpg tumblr_m523w5MmAk1rxbv05o1_500.jpg tumblr_m5229xhicq1rxbv05o1_500.jpg Category:Characters Category:Minor Characters Category:Former William McKinley High School Teachers Category:Former William McKinley High School Football Team Members